Elain Brown Culture 02.09.2022 12:Feb PM EST

Weibo Deletes 41,000 Posts Related to Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 and Banned 850 Accounts; Here’s Why

Weibo is a Chinese social media platform where users can utilize the app to microblog. Just recently, it has been reported that the social media platform deleted over 41,000 social media posts and banned 850 accounts after creating trouble and throwing hurtful comments to Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 Ice Skater Athlete Zhu Yi.

The Olympics is one of the most anticipated events every year. Currently, it takes place in Beijing, China. During this event, every nation shows their support to their compatriots who will represent their countries.

Most Chinese internet users have been following the event and use the social media, Weibo, to express their opinions on the Beijing Winter Olympics, which officially kicked off on Feb. 4 and will wrap up on Feb. 20. However, some of them were too expressive to throw harsh comments.

Weibo Restricts User Generated Hate Content

The popular Chinese social media platform encouraged its users to remain calm as they watched the Olympic games unfold.

In a post, the social media platform wrote that the users they banned "attacked athletes with irony and insulting language and spread false information ... we encourage internet users to watch the competition in a calm mood."

Some viewers following the Olympics event expressed their disappointment at what they had witnessed, leading to cyberbullying an athlete named Zhu Yi. Zhu Yi, a figure skater from the United States, fell during her Winter Olympics debut for Team China.

Figure Skater Zhu Yi Receives Weibo Backlash

Zhu Yi is a California-born Chinese figure skater who debuted in Team China for Beijing Winter Olympics 2022.

On Sunday, Feb. 6, Zhu Yi missed a jump, resulting in slamming into a wall and then later missing another jump. This is the reason why online users throw negative comments at her. According to CNN, Zhu's confidence had been gone in the aftermath of outpouring hatred and failed performance. She received the lowest, making her emotional during the event.

Her team finished fifth place overall in the competition. Despite the online backlash, she bravely returned to the ice again and competed for her long program, in which she completed a number of difficult moves. However, she fell short and fell once more.

The hashtag "Zhu Yi has fallen" was viewed over 200 million times with the comment "This is such a disgrace." It garnered more than 11,000 upvotes in a short period of time.

According to the South China Morning Post report, Weibo encouraged its users not to attack the athletes for accidents and mistakes in competing for the Winter Olympics.

Weibo added that "emotional words only create more pressure for athletes."

Weibo was put under pressure due to outpouring hate to some athletes. Zhu Yi was the most targeted athlete because of an unexpected error.